I made these three bags with miscellaneous yarns that had been sitting in my stash for quite some time. The bags are similar in that they all are felted (fulled); they all include 2 or 3 colors; they are all knitted from the bottom up; they all have a ridge to separate the bottom from the sides; and they all have straps that are not felted and are simple 4-stitch I-cords. Oh, and I used slip stitches in all of them.

Bag #1Left most bag in the photograph. When I first showed this bag to friends, they all responded the same: “It’s perfect for a bottle of wine!” Well, I’d been thinking it would be good for holding a drop spindle and some fiber, but, yeah, I like the wine bottle idea too. Bag #1 differs from the other two in that it has only one layer for the base. It seems strong enough, but I personally prefer the thicker base of Bags #2 and #3. It would be quite easy to knit this bag with the double layer (see Bags #2 and #3).

Yarn: I used an old Brown Sheep yarn. It says simply “Sport Weight” on the label. It seems to be rather like Top of the Lamb, but in a sport weight. It is 100% wool. In order to felt successfully, you will need to use a yarn that is wool, but not “superwash” wool. I used 3 colors: mostly purple (Color A) and fuschia (Color B), with some red (Color C). The original skein size was 4 ounces, 350 yards. I knitted this bag from partial skeins.

Needles: The yarn tag suggested using size 5 needles. Since I planned to felt the bag, I decided to use larger needles, and because I wasn’t too concerned with the final size of the bag, I did not knit a gauge swatch (gasp!). I knitted the bag with US size 7 needles. I used double pointed needles for the base, and a 20-inch circular needle for the sides. You can use double pointed needles throughout, or you could knit with one very long circular needle or two medium length circular needles. You will also need one circular needle of a smaller size and at least 20” in length (to pick up stitches in preparation for knitting two rounds together). NOTE: I knitted the I-cord handles on size 5 needles.

Finished Size of Bag: The base of this bag is roughly square, approximately 4” X 4”. The bag is approximately 10 ½ “ in height. The handles are about 16” (folded over). The completed bag weighs 2.85 ounces.

Bag #2The middle bag in the photograph. This bag differs from the first in that I used a simple slip stitch pattern, not a mosaic stitch pattern. Also, I made the base more round than square. I also made the base of two layers for extra strength.

Yarn: I used the same Brown Sheep yarn as for Bag #1. I used 3 colors: medium blue (Color A), light blue (Color B), and teal green (Color C). As with Bag #1, I knitted this bag from partial skeins.

Needles: I knitted the bag with US size 7 needles. I used double pointed needles for the base, and a 20-inch circular needle for the sides. You will also need one circular needle of a smaller size and at least 20” in length (to act as a stitch holder for the duplicate base, and to pick up stitches in preparation for knitting two rounds together). NOTE: I knitted the I-cord handles on size 5 needles.

Finished Size of Bag: The base of this bag is roughly round, approximately 5” in diameter. The bag is approximately 11 “ in height. The handles are about 16” (folded over). The completed bag weighs 3.10 ounces.

Bag #3Right most bag in the photograph. This bag is shorter and wider. I used only two colors of a worsted weight wool yarn. The base is a square shape, and doubled in thickness. The manner of looping the I-cord straps is different from Bags #1 and #2, and there is a felted ring that allows you to easily open and close this bag. Slip stitches are used to accentuate the 4 corners of the bag.

Yarn: For this bag, I used two colors of Cascade 220 (100% wool, 3.5 ounces, 220 yards): dark olive (Color A), and mustard (Color B). I used slightly less than 1 skein of each color.

Needles: I knitted the bag with US size 9 needles (two sizes larger than the skein tag suggested). I used double pointed needles for the base, and a 20-inch circular needle for the sides. You will also need one circular needle of a smaller size and at least 20” in length (to act as a stitch holder for the duplicate base, and to pick up stitches in preparation for knitting two rounds together). NOTE: I knitted the I-cord handles on size 7 needles.

Finished Size of Bag: The base of this bag is roughly square, approximately 5” X 5”. The bag is approximately 7 ½” in height. There are 4 I-cord handles, approximately 15” in length (folded over and knotted). The completed bag weighs 4.25 ounces.